ICS Daily Devotions
Different Kinds of Faith
While the topic on faith is important, it has also brought about a lot of damage to the body of Christ because of the lack of definitions on the different kinds of faith mentioned in the Bible.
There are four different kinds of faith in a believer’s life.
1) Saving Faith – We believe in the gospel and respond in faith to be saved.
2) The fruit of faith – It is the ability to be faithful which is part of the fruit of the Spirit. It has to do with faithfulness.
3) General Faith – Every believer has it. We will continue to grow and develop our faith in God based on His word.
4) The gift of faith – It is a special supernatural faith but NOT every believer has it because it is given according to the Holy Spirit’s distribution of gifts. Even for those who have the gift of faith, it is not always in operation but is used at a particular time for a particular purpose/season for the benefit/profit of someone or the church.
John 20:25 (NKJV) The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
Thomas represents a large group of people who need to see and feel the evidence before believing. If we need to see the manifestation of the promise or feel it with our senses, then faith is not required. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
In the general kind of faith, we need to exercise our faith by refusing to be moved by what we see or feel, but to stand solely on the Word of God that’s connected to God’s promise. We have faith because of a word of promise that is given to us by God or faith that is based on the redemptive work of Jesus Christ on the cross. The general faith will be able to get stronger when we exercise the faith based on what we have learnt from the Bible. BUT we are not to be foolish and presumptuous by operating beyond the abilities that He has given us, if what we are about to do needs a miracle!
However, the gift of faith is the ability to not look at the circumstances and have the ability to RECEIVE the miracle from God. The gift of faith is where God works through the person to work the miracle which he could not normally do. This faith is unlimited because God is the source!
The general faith is like a muscle that has to be exercised in order for it to get stronger to carry different loads. However, the gift of faith is like a forklift that has the ability to carry heavy loads without the need for exercise.
Sermon Series: CG Campaign – Spiritual Gifts Can Help Your Church Grow
